Angels in the green: Charity golf tourney to benefit home for girls leaving foster care

by
Dylan Galbraithdgalbraith@cherokeetribune.comCherokee Tribune

April 03, 2013 12:02 AM | 1795 views | 0 | 4 | |

Amanda Anderson, human service provider, front, and Larniece Williams, program manager, on the front porch of Angel House. The Angel House houses young women ages 18 to 21 who are aging out of foster care or who need assistance and helps them smoothly transition into an independent living situation.Staff/Samantha M. Shal

The Par Three Charity Golf Tournament this Friday at Lake Arrowhead Golf Course in Waleska is teeing up to benefit the North Georgia Angel House.

The Lake Arrowhead Church, sponsor of the tournament, has been an ongoing supporter of Angel House by donating its money, time and ideas to the women’s facility.

The Angel House is an agency that houses young women ages 18 to 21 who are aging out of foster care or who need assistance and helps them smoothly transition into an independent living situation.

The tournament is a four-person scramble. Each hole will be set up as a par three, and men and women will play from the same tees.

There is a $60 per person fee, which includes golf, lunch, a tee gift and prizes.

Check in is at 11:30 a.m., lunch at 12 p.m. and there’s a 1:30 p.m. shotgun start.

There will also be a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction, mulligans for sale and door prizes.

With the motto “Giving girls roots, giving girls wings,” Angel House teaches young women about self-sufficiency and gives them independent living skills.

“Our goal is to get them to be prepared for emancipation in terms of looking out for themselves when they’re gone,” said Susan Worsley, executive director of Angel House. “We do that by helping them get a job and getting their resumes and high school diplomas and a lot of their skills that they’re really going to need as soon as they enter the work force.”

In addition to improving employment skills with activities such as resume writing, there are also other chores and activities that can help the girls develop independent life skills.

“They do meal planning, they do meal prep, they have a laundry schedule, and they have room inspections,” Worsley said. “Usually they will plan the menu for the week and then they all kind of take turns. One week it will rotate in for meal planning, one they’ll do meal prep, the next week they’ll do meal cleanup.”

Besides the services Angel House provides, the agency also gets much outside help.

Nearby teachers go to Angel House several nights a week to tutor the young women.

“They really work hard for our kids and try to help as much as they can with any subject matter that the kids are lacking in,” Worsley said.

Angel House also has an association known as “Friends of Angel House” where supporters can donate to help Angel House better serve its young female residents in becoming independent women.

“We have an annual benefit called the Friends of Angel House and we have a fundraising dinner that happens each year in August,” Worsley says.

A new and continued membership registration form for FOAH can be downloaded from the Angel House website at www.angelhousega.com/Friends-of-Angel-House.

Angel House has also had several benefits from the Bridgemill Sixes Service League.

“There’s a lot of community involvement, and it really is an effort from a lot of people,” Worsley said.

With all of the support, Angel House has been able to expand the services it offers to its young women.

“Right now our top priority is to build out of some space that we have in the garage,” Worsley says. “We have a six bay area.”

Last year Angel House acquired a franchise to give some of its youths an employment opportunity.

Worsley said some young women at Angel House especially need a sense of purpose and direction for their lives.

“A lot of times our kids come from a place where they just don’t have a lot to look forward to,” she said. “A lot of our kids who come in don’t have family or a place to transition to when they leave care.”

To register for the charity golf tournament call the Lake Arrowhead Pro Shop at (770) 721-7902.

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